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Threshold (episode)
The crew builds a shuttlecraft with a transwarp drive that could take them home. Summary After months of experiments, Tom Paris, B'Elanna Torres and Harry Kim believe they have found a way to cross the transwarp threshold using a new form of dilithium they discovered that remains stable at higher warp frequencies. On the holodeck, however, Paris only brings the shuttle up to warp 9.9 when the nacelles are ripped from the shuttle and it explodes. The trio goes to the mess hall to think it over. Neelix offers to help, but they don't believe he can contribute anything to the discussion. However, after Neelix tells an anecdote from his past, Paris realizes that it is actually the shuttle being ripped from the nacelles, not the other way around. Paris runs out to the holodeck with Torres and Kim. In Captain Janeway's ready room, the senior staff watch the holodeck simulation and grin as Paris brings the shuttle to warp 10 and crosses the transwarp threshold. Paris offers to take a manned transwarp flight, but Janeway enters his quarters that night with the news that the Doctor has discovered a problem in his brain that could kill him, although the chance is slight. Not wanting to take the chance, she will assign Ensign Kim to the flight. He begs her to reconsider, stating that people had always said that Tom Paris was going to do something special someday, and that this was it. Janeway agrees to it, and the next morning Paris boards the [[Cochrane (shuttlecraft)|Shuttlecraft, now named Cochrane]] and launches it. The shuttle kicks into warp, followed closely by Voyager. Voyager ups to warp 9.975, its maximum velocity, for as long as it can. But as Paris surpasses that speed, Voyager must slow. As the crew waits in anxiety, Paris goes faster and faster until finally sensors record warp 10. Then, Paris vanishes. A search fails to turn up the Lieutenant, but then he suddenly reappears, sleeping. In sickbay, Paris recounts his transwarp flight. Log Entries *''First Officer's log, stardate 49373.4. It's taken us three days to locate the shuttle. It appears to have dropped out of transwarp in an uninhabited star system. '' *''First Officer's log, supplemental. We've transported the captain and Mister Paris back to sickbay. As for their offspring, I've decided to leave them in their new habitat. '' Memorable Quotes "You're not going anywhere. At least not for a few hours. I have some tests I'd like to run on Your Majesty before I release you back into the realm of ordinary humans." : - The Doctor after Paris returns from his mission "What did he ingest?" "Just a cup of Neelix's coffee." "It's a miracle he's still alive." : - B'Elanna Torres and The Doctor after Paris first falls ill. "Pepperoni! God, I'd love a pepperoni pizza with Kavarian olives right now. I'm starving!" : - Tom Paris undergoing one of his evolutionary changes "I lost my virginity in that room. Seventeen. Parents were away for the weekend." "I'll note that in your medical file." : - Tom Paris and The Doctor Background Information *Many fans and even Paramount staff, including Rick Sternbach and Brannon Braga, discount the events of Threshold, due to its severe scientific flaws. Braga admits it was the single worst episode he ever wrote - yet ironically he created and produced a show nine years later also known as Threshold. *The story idea for this episode came from Michael DeLuca, who was at the time the head of New Line Cinema. *The creatures into which Paris and Janeway "evolve" were based on salamanders. According to members of the writing staff, they thought it might be more interesting to have the cycle of evolution go "full circle" and back to Humans' primitive roots rather than a "large-brained, glowing human" as one might expect. *Jeri Taylor felt that this episode received more backlash from fans than it deserved, but she acknowledged that "The fact that we were turning people into salamanders was offensive to a lot of people and just plain stupid to others." Links and References Guest Stars *Raphael Sbarge as Michael Jonas *Tarik Ergin as Ayala (uncredited) References 2372, acidichloride, antiproton, antiproton radiation treatment, Zefram Cochrane, ''Cochrane'', dark-matter nebula, dilithium, Eugene's Limit, gigaquad, human, hyper-evolution, Michael Jonas, mutation; nitrogen, Paris Delight, space; technobabble, transwarp, transwarp drive, Transwarp Evolutionary Syndrome, type-9 shuttlecraft, Warp 10, warp factor Category:VOY episodes de:Die Schwelle nl:Threshold